HCM CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY DIPTESOL 13B

Course Planning and Syllabus Design

Group 6: Bch Hng Nguyn Hong H Thy Tin Phm Nguyn Ngc Phng Trng Th Hng Nhung

Planning the Course Structure

Topical (content-based) syllabus

WHAT? organized around themes, topics, or other units of content starting point is content rather than grammar, functions, or situations framework for linking different syllabus strands together each syllabus must include some content

Planning the Course Structure

Topical (content-based) syllabus

PROS A case study of why a Topical syllabus was preferred in developing speaking materials
Functionally Topics/content-based organized organized Places and Directions Music Cities and Places Movies Leisure and Entertainment Television On vacation Shopping

Planning the Course Structure

Topical (content-based) syllabus

PROS facilitates comprehension content makes linguistic form more meaningful best basis for teaching the skills areas integration of the four skills addresses students needs motivating allows usage of authentic materials

Planning the Course Structure

Topical (content-based) syllabus

CONS proper decisions about the themes, topics and content are critical striking balance between content and its vocabulary and grammar may be difficult ELT teachers may not be qualified to teach the content assessment is difficult test the learning of language or test the learning of content?

Planning the Course Structure

Competency-based syllabus
WHAT? focuses on a list of abilities (competencies) the student must be able to master in specific situations and activities competencies are a description of the essential skills, knowledge and attitudes which must be acquired to be able to effectively perform tasks and activities used in ESP, work-skills and social survival language programs

Planning the Course Structure

Competency-based syllabus
WHAT? Oxford Word Skills (OUP) Examples of competencies related to the topic Food and drink in Basic:
I can name meat and fish I can name fruit and vegetables I can buy food in a shop I can order in a caf I can order in a restaurant

Planning the Course Structure

Competency-based syllabus
PROS learners are centred, learning process is central outcome-based, adaptive to the changing needs of students, teachers and the community

Planning the Course Structure

Competency-based syllabus
CONS no valid procedures to develop competency specifications hidden values underlying competency specifications

Planning the Course Structure

Skills syllabus
WHAT? focuses on the different underlying abilities (micro-skills) required to be proficient at the four macro-skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening an example of "part to whole" sequencing

Planning the Course Structure

Skills syllabus
WHAT? Active Skills for Reading (Thomson) Examples of micro-skills of Reading in the first 4 units of Book 1:
predicting scanning reading for details using subtitles to predict content

Planning the Course Structure

Skills syllabus
WHAT? Active Listening (second edition) (CUP) Examples of micro-skills of Listening volume 2: listening for main idea listening for details making inferences

Planning the Course Structure

Skills syllabus
PROS focuses on behaviour or performance teaches skills that are transferable to many situations identifies a framework that can be broken into teachable and learnable units

Planning the Course Structure

Skills syllabus
CONS no serious basis for determining skills focuses on discrete aspects of performance rather than global and integrated communicative abilities

Planning the Course Structure

Task-based syllabus
WHAT? organized around tasks that the student will be able to complete in the target language Tasks "provide a vehicle for the presentation of appropriate target language samples to learners input which they will inevitable reshape via application of general cognitive processing capabilities and for the delivery of comprehension and production opportunities of negotiable difficulty." (Long and Crookes, 1991, 1993) not widely used as core syllabus

Planning the Course Structure

Task-based syllabus
WHAT?
Two types of tasks: Pedagogical and real-world tasks Pedagogical tasks are based on second language acquisition (SLA) theory and are designed to trigger language learning processes and strategies. Examples of pedagogical tasks:
jigsaw tasks information-gap tasks problem solving tasks decision-making tasks opinion exchange tasks

Planning the Course Structure

Task-based syllabus
PROS tasks are activities that drive the language learning process tasks are motivating and engage in meaningful communication grammar is not central though it will be learned

Planning the Course Structure

Task-based syllabus
CONS definitions of tasks are sometimes too broad procedure for design and selection of tasks are unclear excessive use of communicative tasks may encourage fluency at the expense of accuracy